


Media Attention

by MagicalStardust



Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: F/F, Heed the Warning, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, bad stuff happens to Niska in this, because most people in this story are awful, happy ending I promise, it got dark, this was meant as a short semi-fluffy fic, well clearly they don’t know as they’re not following it, what even is the law???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-08-29 10:54:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8486617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicalStardust/pseuds/MagicalStardust
Summary: Niska is mentioned on the news.Astrid goes to England to try to help in her court case.It doesn't go as well as Niska hoped.
(Will almost definitely be AU with tonight's episode)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Please heed the warning in the tags, although nothing is shown (if it were I would have tagged it as explicit) it's very obvious what happened.
> 
> On another note, I hope you enjoy the angsty story that I've written on the bus this week :)

Astrid's footsteps echoed round the apartment as she moved quickly towards the TV, turning it on and keeping the volume low.

This had been the routine since Niska had left, the flat too eerily silent without the presence of another person. As quiet as Niska had been she had carved herself a space in Astrid's life in the six weeks they had known each other, now that space was empty, and the only way she could even try to fill it was with ineffective background noise.

Once again she considered moving.

She stood by what she'd said to Niska, it had been the truth, she didn't mean it any less now, but she did regret saying it. Maybe, maybe if she'd been less impatient, maybe she'd know what made Niska tick now. After all it was her mysteries that had drawn Astrid to her in the first place.

She flopped down on the sofa, trying not to feel the ghost of Niska's hands on her and glanced towards the TV, not registering the picture on the screen for a good five seconds before her mind froze in shock.

It was her.

Niska's face was plastered across the TV screen, she may have blonde hair but Astrid had stared into her eyes enough times to be able to recognise her girlfriend with a change in hairstyle. It took her a few moments to hear what the news reporter was explaining enthusiastically in German.

"...days time, Niska Elster, the so-called conscious synthetic accused of murdering an elderly gentleman will face trial. We now join our science correspondent to discuss the claims that it is able to feel as we do. So, is it true that its actions are the result of a sophisticated illegal mod?"  
Astrid turned off the TV, her mind spinning, a cold, sick feeling in her stomach.

It was ridiculous, there was no way Niska had been a Synth, she was just too real! No synth could have acted in the way she had, no synth could make Astrid feel the way she did. But...  
Her mind flickered back to Niska's constant philosophical questions, her whys, - why do we do things, why do we feel, how do we know we've made a choice? - her obsession with 'dead white guys'' books. 

And, now that she thought about it, a few weeks back Niska had cut herself whilst cooking and she had sworn there was blue on her hands. She had put it down to a trick of the light at the time but maybe it wasn't. Now Niska's reaction made sense. How she'd thrown the knife quickly into the sink, cradling her hand from view and growling at Astrid to keep away from her, shoving past her into the bathroom and refusing to come out for ages or talk about what had happened.

Originally, Astrid had assumed that her reaction was just another consequence of her trauma, the one she'd wished Niska would just trust her enough to share even a little bit, to let her _help_.

And the wound that she always seemed to have, the one that made her flinch away and catch her hand whenever Astrid tried to touch it fell into place. That was where synths had their charging points, of course Niska was terrified of her uncovering it.

Shaking, Astrid grabbed her laptop and flicked up the screen, typing in Niska's name and bringing up the English results, hoping they'd tell her more and have more first hand information than the German ones.

Her eyes widened as she read the news story. What Niska had been through...she slammed the lid down and shoved the laptop away in disgust.

It all made sense now though. Niska's initial hesitation, how she'd dissolved into panic once when Astrid had done something she wasn't expecting, how she flinched like she was expecting it to hurt.

Astrid flicked up her computer screen again. Niska had been scared to let her in, but whether she liked it or not she understood now and was going to help. Because whether she admitted it or not Astrid knew she needed it. And god help her if she was going to leave the woman she loved alone at a time like this.

*          *          *

The people swarmed around Niska like ants, forcing microphones at her, her police escort making no attempt to protect her from the pushing and shoving of the crowd. The ‘we are human’ supporters the loudest and most violent, yelling half-discernible threats at her over the noise.

“Niska, Niska!” she turned her head at the familiar voice, catching a glimpse of Astrid, but then turned away, allowing herself to be escorted through the crowd. She shouldn’t be here, not in this aspect of her life, she needed her to leave. Niska wondered what Astrid thought of her now, if she were only interested about how a ‘modded synth’ had been able to lie to her for so long. “No, please I want to help you!”

Niska made her way up the steps and through the door. There was nothing Astrid could do to help her. She didn’t want her here, not in harm’s way, hopefully she could just give up and go home.

*          *          *

“Why don’t we just scrap her, she’s clearly been modded?” a member of the Jury suggested, there was a murmur of agreement in the audience as Niska glared at her.

This hadn’t been going how she’d hoped it would. Yes, she’d been gaining publicity, but…nothing had really come of it. The only publicity was really how much modding had apparently improved. No one wanted to think of the alternative, it was too terrifying to believe that the synths that they had enslaved and controlled and made to do exactly what they wanted could think and feel. Because what would they do to the humans then? They refused to believe what was right in front of them and Niska _hated_ them for it.

She glanced over to where Astrid was sitting, pale and furious, with the rest of the crowd that had piled in to get a front line view of the law case of the century.

“They’ve tested me, you know that’s not true,” Niska snarled and one of the police behind her shoved her for speaking out of turn, to the amusement of the crowd.

Niska could kill him too, but somehow she didn’t think that would help her trial.

She almost thought she didn’t care.

*          *          *

Astrid stood in the witness box, her dark hair tumbling around her face, her eyes flashing dangerously. Niska thought she looked beautiful.

“Firstly,” she stated. “I’d like to prove that Niska is conscious. Then, I will tell you how I know Niska only killed this man in self-defence,

“I met Niska in a nightclub. It was obvious, from the moment we met she was conscious. She’s just like everyone else, she’s driven, talented, even funny sometimes, anyone who’s bothered to speak to her for five minutes can tell she’s alive. I was with her for six weeks and over the course of our relationship she…”

“Relationship?” the prosecution asked sceptically.

“Yes,” Astrid raised her eyebrows.

“You mean to tell me that the _synth_ is _gay_ ,”

“She can think or feel like anyone else, why couldn’t she be?”

“She’s clearly delusional,” the police man behind her stage whispered to his friend. “The fag couldn’t get any girls to fuck so she convinced herself it could feel the way she did too,”

Niska turned around and punched him.

She was dragged away from the court in handcuffs, kicking and cursing at them.

*          *          *

Niska had been deemed 'too dangerous' to be in court after her outburst earlier that week. Like that was the worst thing that she could have done, given a black eye to a police officer, like what he’d said, like what he and his colleagues had been saying all week had been even close to okay. It was really just an excuse to keep Niska out of the way, to ensure she didn't win.

Astrid listened to the court debate a verdict, talking coldly about scrapping her. She wasn’t conscious after all so of course they could just destroy her. Her life wasn’t even alive, so she didn’t matter. Astrid felt ice cold fear settle over her heart as the days wore on, certain that Niska wouldn’t be making it out of this alive.

*          *          *

Niska shivered in her cell. It was so cold she hadn’t stopped shivering since the day they’d locked her in here for good, since the day she’d attacked him and this became the place she no longer spent only her nights in. It was completely silent, it echoed, rang in her ears and every slight sound made her jump.

She was trapped, trapped in the dizzying pitch darkness with no hope of escape. She could only feel the walls around her. Walls that were keeping her caged in, unable to escape, like she had been at the brothel. Alone. Helpless.

She sucked in air like she was drowning, she felt like she was, she couldn’t see, she couldn’t escape, she couldn’t breathe. Synths didn’t need to breathe, but facts like that seemed more like lies as her lack of senses of the room around her suffocated her.

She almost didn’t hear the steps echoing down the hallway, but she did notice the lights suddenly blaring in the room. Niska screwed her eyes tightly shut and flung her arms over her face.

Blinking, she tried to adjust to the light and take in the five newcomers who had just heaved open the door and stood in front of her, looking smug and confident.

“So, Synth,” the man whose eye she’d blackened stared at her in a self-satisfied and expectant manner. “I heard you were a good little whore,”

The door slammed shut behind them as they stepped into the room and Niska _screamed._

*          *          *

Everything was in place, the Hawkins’s and Synths ready and waiting and goddammit Astrid didn’t care about the consequences to her if this went wrong, she was tired of waiting, tired of not knowing what was happening to Niska, tired of fearing what the court had already as good as decided. She strode through the halls, dressed in a guard’s uniform, nodding curtly to anyone she passed.

As she got closer to Niska the security lessened, less people to guard in this section of the prison.

She stood outside the heavy door to Niska’s cell and took a deep breath, Niska’s survival was counting on her, she couldn’t screw this up. She turned the key and heaved open the door, stopping in horror as she saw the state of the room.

Niska sat naked in the corner of the cell, curled up against the wall away from the door, long scratches of blue evident on her pale skin. The room smelled of sweat and Astrid didn’t even want to think of what else, but she barely registered that thought as fury welled up inside of her.

“I’ll kill them all!” she snarled, and Niska looked up in surprise, her glare turning softer as she saw Astrid, but her gaze still hard, determined to look as strong as possible in front of her ex-girlfriend, especially due to the way she now saw her. “How dare they! Who did this to you?” time pressures forgotten she crossed the cell in a few strides and sat down next to Niska, wrapping her arms around her. Niska stiffened but then relaxed into the embrace.

“The police.”

Astrid growled in anger and frustration. “When?”

Niska gave a half-hearted shrug. “I don’t know. Fairly regularly for the past I don’t know how long, I have no way to tell time in here,”

“I’m not going to let this stand,” Astrid promised, fury boiling inside. “This is not okay,”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Niska snapped. “The jury wouldn’t care. I’m just a _synth_. I tried, I tried to defend myself I tried to stop them, but…there were too many, they held me down, they took everything I had from me, even my clothes because why should I need them. Even the brothel let me have _that!_ ”

Astrid held her as for the first time she had ever seen Niska sobbed in her arms, broken and hopeless.

“It’s okay,” she promised. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to get out of here and they’re never, ever going to find us again. I’m not letting them take you, and I’m not letting you be alone, not anymore,”

Niska nodded, wiping her eyes.

“We should go then,” she decided, standing up purposefully and taking the jacket that Astrid offered.

*          *          *

  
2 months later, in the south of France, Niska lay on the damp, overgrown grass in the garden of their cottage. Astrid’s hand in hers as they allowed the sun to warm them as they lay.

They were slowly waking up the Synths, allowing them to feel. Because she could create life and she would, she would allow them to feel.

Sooner or later the court would realise she had been telling the truth.

Maybe then they would stop looking for her.

But they were safe here, for now at least, they had each other, and that was what mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed my somewhat weird and disjointed and definitely angsty story!
> 
> You've read over 2,000 words, please comment with a few :)


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